Older children, born when their parents were beginning their life and moving around from one job to another, often envy their younger siblings who arrived into a more stable and mature home. The younger siblings envy missing the adventures experienced when the family was still forming and their parents were less established. Those who were […]

I left our home in Toronto in 1971 for summer camp, and was surprised to be driven at summer’s end to a new home in Baltimore. I didn’t know that we were moving. There seemed to be what Richard Russo, in “The Mysteries of Linwood Hart,” describes as a Ghost Scene, “from which I had […]

“I learned long ago, never wrestle with a pig, you get dirty; and besides, the pig likes it.” George Bernard Shaw I agree with Shaw, and yet, I see all sorts of people pig-wrestling. We recite numerous Viduiim, or, confessions, from a few days before Rosh Hashanah through Yom Kippur. I watch people crushed by […]

1.This from R Moshe Mayerfeld, heard from Dayan Dunner, London Beis Din, a true story which the dayan personally verified, on the power of prayer. An orthodox woman in an old age home, lets call her Mrs Shwartz, dies suddenly, the family is called, and they give her the fitting and appropriate halachic burial. Three […]

We often call Pip, our dog, ‘The Yogi’. He is a master bower, especially when he wants a cookie. Even after a few years of Yoga, I still cannot bow as well as Pip. His students watched as Rabbi Yehoshua Leib Diskin practiced the Amidah bowing for hours. They would not dare disturb their great […]

The husband and wife have been arguing for hours, but they love each other. They both calm down and work things out. Both accept some of the responsibility. Both apologize and they forgive each other. They work harder at ending the argument than they did at arguing. The husband and wife have been arguing for […]

The people of Nineveh committed to fast and pray until God rescinded the decree of destruction. They ended their fast and prayers. How did they know that they were safe? Jonah was angry that the people of Nineveh were saved. He had not received a prophecy informing him that God had rescinded the decree. How […]

I was putting the final touches on my first Yom Kippur sermon in my new synagogue. I wanted to begin with an acknowledgment that I hurt people even though I had only been there for a month or two, and I wanted people to learn to ask for forgiveness. I was writing, “Request for Mechilah […]

I was sitting in the waiting room of the service department of a car dealership and an “Oldies” station was playing, and I was surprised over how many of the songs were familiar. I couldn’t remember anyone playing these songs in our house, especially when my father zt”l was home, and then, I realized that […]

It’s not surprising that the portion immediately following Shema – Hear/Listen, begins, “This shall be the reward when you carefully listen to these ordinances.” I wonder about the Hebrew name of the portion, Eikev. When I see that word, that translates as, “heel,” I immediately think of Adam’s, Eve’s, and the Serpent’s. consequences and punishments […]